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You can't normally see water currents or the wind. Now you can: A
computer code used to visualize wind has been adapted by
researchers to show surface currents of the Great Lakes.

The code was originally developed to make a map of
the wind by Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg,
artists/technologists who lead Google's "Big Picture"
visualization research group in Cambridge, Mass., according to
their website.

But researchers at the Great Lakes Environmental Research
Laboratory in Michigan saw the stunning wind map and figured it
could be applied to surface currents of the Great Lakes, which
are largely driven by wind. They were right. And, luckily for
them, Viégas and Wattenberg agreed to share their code.

The result? A stunning map of surface currents on the Great
Lakes, as shown in this screenshot of the map on the
laboratory's website from this afternoon (Oct. 3).

The code uses a computer model to visualize wind patterns, said
David Schwab, a researcher at the laboratory who's in charge of
the map. The model is based on measurements of wind speed, air
temperature and other variables at weather stations and buoys
around the Great Lakes, Schwab told OurAmazingPlanet. It's
updated four times per day.

"I think a lot of people never realized how variable the currents
are in the lakes," Schwab said. He thinks the map will be useful
for recreational boaters, fishermen and the shipping industry, as
well as for generally increasing people's knowledge of the Great
Lakes, he said.

Faster currents are shown as thicker white lines, and the speed
of the current can be determined by zooming in on individual
lines.